Major investment in Preston has created luxurious new facilities at one of the region’s top jewellers.
One of Lancashire’s finest family jewellers has completed a major expansion of its Preston showroom to create an exclusive Rolex room.
The fourth-generation jewellers see the move, which also includes a luxury diamond room, as a key investment for the company and its high street business.
In addition to the showroom development, Whittles also expanded its workforce by creating a new role for a watch specialist who will join its team of ten.
The new Rolex room includes bespoke furniture and fittings designed in Switzerland by Rolex and manufactured by UK-based shopfitters, Benbow Group. Whittles has also invested further into its Rolex range allowing greater depth of choice and variety for clients to enjoy.
The newly appointed diamond room offers a more intimate environment away from the busy shop floor. This area will be dedicated to Whittles’ world class, hand-sourced diamonds and gemstones to provide clients with a memorable experience.
Joanna Rhodes-Valentine, the managing director, said: ‘These certainly are exciting times for Whittles.
‘We are immensely proud to have had the opportunity to extend our showroom which enhances the Rolex customer experience along with creating a beautiful area within our showroom dedicated to our diamonds.
‘We’ve been extremely privileged to work in partnership with Rolex for more than 50 years. Throughout this journey we have seen Rolex become one of the most iconic, globally-recognised brands and we remain very proud of our association with them.
‘We are also particularly excited to recruit a new watch specialist to welcome into our growing team of industry specialists, which includes two FGA qualified gemmologists, an on-site registered valuer and a Rolex accredited watchmaker.’
This isn’t the first time Whittles has expanded its Preston showroom. In 2013 the company relocated to its current premises on Fishergate to allow a much larger showroom complete with a dedicated Rolex area.
Whittles is a family business which spans four generations and has more than 155 years of experience since 1862.
